Leonard Pitts The Miami Herald

February 24, 2010

Leonard Pitts
The Miami Herald
One Herald Plaza
Miami, Florida 33132-1693

RE: De profundis – Imperfect contrition and a comment on your anti-Constitutional column in today’s Miami Herald.

Mr. Pitts,

My Lenten vow, entered into on Ash Wednesday with all the resolve a serial sinner could muster, was to abstain from pole axing mush brained modern American Liberal pundits until noon on Easter Sunday. Thank God the New Testament God is a forgiving God what with my vow having been broken so soon after taking it.

I read your column today and it became obvious that there is no sense being a gong unless someone is willing to strike it. That task has fallen to me.

You speak of the recent Supreme Court decision expanding freedom of speech as it were a weapon of mass destruction. It is, by your reckoning, a “dirty bomb” that will allow the hated “special interests” to shower money on candidates and elected officials. You say that corporations will taint the process.

You wonder “how a legislator beholden to a corporation for his office can be truly expected to put the public first”. The corporation in the crosshairs is Toyota.

Your solution is to let them become Anathema.

Does your proscription apply to all corporations or just the bad ones? Would an on purpose non-profit corporation get a pass?

Should the various teachers’ unions be forbidden to make contributions t to office holders or candidates for office? Would not Logic dictate that they would want to help those who help them? If a legislator takes money from an advocate for teachers should he be banned form voting on educational matters?

How about the NRA? How about either side of the abortion issue? How about both sides of the abortion issue? How about drowning polar bears? Autism advocates. Free Tibet. The beer lobby. Fair Play for Cuba. Truthers. Birthers. Truthers who are birthers, NAMBLA fans, inter alia. Who passes the Pitts test? Exactly what is the Pitts test?






If we were to add up all the money that Fanny, Freddy, Sallie, Milly, Jose, and Gamal Mae gave to Barney Frank and Christopher Dodd we would have enough to give 3 hots and a cot for a weekend to a decent sized town in Haiti.

How about we just repeal the First Amendment? Can we do it retroactively?

As an aside, I believe the controversy over abortion would be greatly lessened if it could be made retroactive. Speaking of abortion, would you say that an excess of Affirmative Action is at work here? Since Roe v Wade this country has had 50,000,000 abortions. [Justice Marshall’s concurring opinion should be required reading in any course about it.] Black women, no more than 6% of the total population have had about 16,000,000 of them. Is that an example of “leveling the playing field”? Who knows how many Andre Wattses or Clarence Thomases got scraped out of Mommy. Just a thought.

About the Supreme Court decision…

The 1907 law that was reversed was the handiwork of Ben “Pitchfork” Tillman. Until T. Woodrow Wilson became President he was, hands down, the most bigoted, racist man in Washington. Perhaps the founding of the NAACP shortly after its passage in 1907 was not coincidental. It was the most anti-Black piece of legislation passed until the enactment of the Davis-Bacon Act.

“While were at it, end the gerrymandering that allows
candidates and parties to choose their own voters
and ensure reelection in perpetuity.”
The Miami Herald
Today
You

The net effect of the above would be to reduce the number of Black legislators by as much as 90%. The deal was struck between urban Blacks and suburban and rural Whites. It benefited both. Isn’t that the way things are supposed to work? The simple unimpeachable fact is that there are districts in Miami/Dade and Broward counties that would elect O.J. Simpson – in jail or out – or Michael Jackson – alive or dead should either name appear on the ballot. Could there be any other explanation for Patrick Kennedy being elected to anything. The method used by Congresswoman Carrie Meek to will her seat to her son without dying was priceless.

The perpetual modern American Liberal mantra of public funding of elections, of everything, is predicated on a willing suspension of disbelief that is Homeric. The “obvious and true world” that Orwell spoke of, the world where “stones are hard and water is wet”, goes walkabout when the thought of Federal involvement is mentioned.




The Federal government has been running the Post Office since 1792.
The Federal government has been directly involved in housing since 1936.
The Federal government declared war on poverty in 1965.
The Federal government has had an energy department since 1977.
The Federal government has had an education department since 1978.

I cite 5 Federal attempts to solve problems. Res ipso loquitur?

I can’t wait for them to take over health care.

The Federal government spent $2,500,000 to advertise and promote the 2010 Census. I hope the Chinese, from whom we borrowed the money to pay for it, liked the ad.

You have caused me to reconsider self-flagellation. If you write any more columns like today’s I may have to trade up to crucifixion. That’s what I call a “shovel ready” job. At least my leave taking will result in either a job created or a job saved.


Kevin Smith